Teaching Tips, Trends & Traps #1

Topic: Elevating Writing in French – From “Basic” to “Brilliant” ✨ Three Smart Tips for Teaching Writing

1. Use Sentence Builders for Complexity

Why: Students struggle to vary sentence structure and often repeat basic patterns.

Try this: Build “stretch” sentences with models:
👉 Si j’avais plus de temps, je voyagerais en France pour découvrir sa culture fascinante.

🔗 Resource to pair: Érudits Sentence Builder Templates (coming soon)

2. Practice 'Translation Reversal' Once a Week

Why: Translating from English to French highlights gaps in grammar and vocabulary.

Activity idea: Write a short English paragraph → Translate to French → Swap with a partner → Peer mark using a checklist.

3.     Create a Personal ‘Expression Bank’ Wall

Why: Students overuse simple expressions (e.g. c’est bien, j’aime ça).

What to do: Have each student contribute 1 new phrase per week to the wall.
E.g. Je suis convaincu que, Il faut que je souligne, Ce qui m’a marqué, c’est…

🖼 Display these in class + add to a shared Google Doc.

🔍 Watch Out! Common Writing Traps

⚠️ Trap

❌ Why it’s a problem

✅ What to do instead

Overusing il y a, c’est, j’aime

Flat style, no flair

Teach ça me passionne, je suis d’avis que, cela m’intéresse parce que…

Forgetting accents and agreements

Basic errors, loss of marks

Run 'Accord Check' drills weekly

Writing too much in English then translating

Leads to awkward French

Train students to “think in French” using scaffolded prompts

📌 Classroom Challenge

“Upgrade This Sentence” Starter

Put a basic sentence on the board:
J’aime la musique.

Students work in pairs to rewrite it 3 ways using more advanced structures:
👉 La musique me permet de me détendre après une journée fatigante.

🧠 Teaching Tips, Trends & Traps #2

A monthly dose of insight for inspired French teaching from Érudits
Focus: Years 7–10

🎯 TEACHING TIP — Active Listening Boost

💡 Perfect for Years 7–9 listening tasks
Try this with any audio: songs, interviews, news, or classroom recordings.

  1. Before listening: Give students 5 key words to listen for.

  2. During listening: Ask students to raise their hand or mark the word when they hear it.

  3. After listening: Have them guess the theme of the audio based on the keywords — then replay to confirm.

✔ Helps learners build focus, develop prediction skills, and engage actively with the text.

🔍 TREND — Student-Created Content

🎥 Students love being creators — not just learners!
Encourage students (especially in Years 8–10) to make short videos, memes, or voice notes explaining:

  • A grammar rule

  • A cultural tradition

  • A set of vocabulary words

You can even create a class gallery or playlist!

✨ Increases motivation, confidence, and gives purpose to their learning.

⚠️ TRAP — Overloading Vocabulary Lists

🚫 More is not always better! Overloading new vocab in Years 7–8 can lead to frustration and low retention.

Instead:

  • Stick to 10–12 theme-based words

  • Use retrieval activities (like word games, quizzes)

  • Let students build personal vocab banks — “Pick your 5 favourite words!”

🧠 Prioritise useful, memorable language over quantity.